Fishing the Carolinas' w/ Capt. Rick Croson

Nov. 24th - nearshore grouper fun

2010-11-28T17:18:00.002-08:00

Quick trip today with two of my favorite guys aboard. Mike and his dad wanted to catch some of the grouper and snappers which are close to the beach for dinner and well that turned out to be the right choice.

With a one Gag grouper per person limit, we were looking for White grunts to go with our grouper, that is where the problem started. After putting a pair of nice 18 pound gags on the box we went looking for Grunts and had to just keep releasing grouper 17 of them that would swim back down along with a pair of American Red snapper that are closed. we did manage a 40 grunt limit and had a nice ocean for the ride home. Used just one reel today, BX-500N they do alot of work on my boat between jigging and bottom fishing.

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www.accuratefishing.com

Nov. 21st - Gulf Stream bottom fishing

2010-11-28T17:18:00.001-08:00

Had a great group from a NC state fishing club based in Winston-Salem. They had invited me to speak back in the spring and we set up a trip for the summer, well after three postponed dates we finally got the weather to relax and went fishing.

With the idea to learn to jig and with the need to fill a freezer or two we headed offshore. The day started slow on the troll looking for fish to later jig on, with only one strike and a Black fin tuna on board we moved and jigged for a while with still slow results. A few Amberjacks and Almaco jacks were all that botherd to eat the jigs. With a quick trip inshore we pulled up on what would change the day, a nice coral bottom in 150 feet of water looked good on the bottom machine. I had a small jig tied on and one of the guys sent it down to find out what was home. Oh yes Grey triggerfish, big ones and they were ready to eat. After anchoring the boat we proceeded to work on them, and added a few Red porgies, White grunts, and some really nice red grouper. The action was fast so only got a pic of the aftermath. Great way to fill a freezer with tasty bottom fish.

With all the techniques used there is a lot of equipment today SR-30, SR-20, SR-12, BX2-30, BX-500N, BX-600N, BX-400

www.livingwatersguide.com

www.accuratefishing.com

Nov. 20th - mixed bag offshore

2010-11-28T17:17:00.002-08:00

I didn't get a lot of pictures on this trip mainly because it was a pretty busy day, started off jigging of course, but that action was slow, very slow, so the good always take what is available, so on to trolling lures at 8 knots. That seemed to be a better choice, we had a 55 pound wahoo eat the planer rod first thing and that was followed by 30 mins of Black fin tuna on all the lures. We had a dozen tuna quick when that bite died, so we moved again. This time we pushed inshore to catch some bottom fish, we had to pick on them but had a nice catch of Red grouper, White grunts, Grey triggerfish, and red porgies. Overall it was a great day with lots of fish and beautiful weather. We used a mix of reels for this trip BX2-30, ATD-50N, SR-30, SR-20, BX-500N, BX-400.

www.livingwatersguide.com

www.accuratefishing.com

Nov. 19th - Combo trolling/jigging charter

2010-11-28T17:17:00.001-08:00

Well what hppens when you land your first amberjack and it happens to be your largest fish ever, thats right you have to lay beside it to show how big it really is! This was a quick trip thanks to miss information from the weather man, but while we were there we did some damage.

Nice Amber jacks and False albacore where the majority of the catches and one Black fin tuna. we only had about four hours of fishing before having to retreat to the marina, leaving behind a nasty rising ocean.

Can't wait til the water gets colder to thin out the sharks, this is what happens when you pull hard the Amberjack pulls hard and the shark just has to open his mouth. We used SR-30, SR-20, and BX-500 reels on this day.

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www.accuratefishing.com

Nov. 15th - Marine Warehouse Crowd

2010-11-28T17:16:00.002-08:00

What a day, had the pleasure of having the guys from Marine Warehouse Center on board, after they hooked up the boat with the new Honda motors. All I can say is the weather must have been sent from heaven. Perfect november day warm slick ocean and the fish were ready to eat.

We pulled up to the first stop and with jigs ready the bottom machine showed the marks of tuna, and the jigs found them, 21 on them and some of them were very nice for the early season. With everyones muscles burning the tuna slowed and we moved around looking for more to pull on. well very close by we found a weed line and temp break where we pulled 11 mahi off of a floating tree.

Once all the mahi were stowed we made our way to a deep drop spot in 430 feet of water and found some really big sub tropical species including the top picture of a White Trevally, and this pretty large Rainbow runner.

With a great day always comes great surprises so before we ran the 70 miles to home we got the treat of watching a 35 foot fin whale basking in the sun and giving us several fluke shots. Excellent day with great people. Reels used SR-30, SR-20, SR-12, BX-500, BX-600.

www.livingwatersguide.com

www.accuratefishing.com

Nov. 14th - offshore with Duke

2010-11-28T17:16:00.001-08:00

Well if the clothes don't tell you I will, this was a group of students from Duke university, soe who have jigged offshore and some rookies. I can say the day was a mix of good and bad, we caught fish and had a great time but the sharks where not very kind and took a lions share of the fish we hooked. Of the landed species, we had some decent Black fin tuna, Almaco jacks, Amberjacks and False Albacore.

Trying to beat the sharks became the real fight and the guys put the tackle to the test as I gave them a little extra drag, the proof is in the pull! We used a mix of spinning and conventional tackle SR-30, SR-20, BX-500, and BX-600.

www.livingwatersguide.com

www.accuratefishing.com

Oct. 30th - inshore

2010-10-30T17:53:00.001-07:00

With all the wind this week I ran a rare inshore trip for a good client who wanted to have a fun day on the water with a friend from out of state. Well the trout gave a good showing and we worked a little a found some drum to go along. Kept a few fish to eat and released lots of trout and drum and bluefish.

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www.accuratefishing.com

Oct. 24th - Gulfstream Jigging

2010-10-30T17:50:00.001-07:00

This group is the reason I started running so many jigging charters, Big John Flores. This guy can out jig all the others and some, and he is a great person to be around. Well normally my job is very easy ith them on board but this day wanted to fight, first there was no current, then the sharks were just about relentless, and to make it worse I was marking schools of tuna under the boat that would not eat.
Well after dealing with the dealings of the day and getting a few fish up without a shark attack we made the most of the last hour catching 18 blackfin tuna after the ocean turned into a playground as tuna went to jumping and feeding for three miles.

Even caught a shark on a topwater plug. Still a great trip with all the challenges. Reels used SR-20, SR-30, BX-500N.

www.livingwatersguide.com

www.accurtefishing.com

Oct. 23rd - mixed trip

2010-10-30T17:47:00.000-07:00

Had a regular customer today that wanted to go catch some bottom fish for the freezer and then a few king mackerel if the time allowed. Well it was a tough day on the group who had several chances for grouper but the grouper always seemed to win the fight. Luckily the Grey snapper and Sea bass made a good showing and the kings ate the lite line without having to move. All in all a good day with lots of fish for the table. Reels used, BX-500N, SR-12 and BX-500

www.livingwatersguide.com

www.accuratefishing.com

Oct. 19 - Near-shore Mixed Bag

2010-10-19T18:36:00.001-07:00

For once this month I had a group that wanted to bottom fish and live bait troll, it is nice to only run 20 miles instead of 65 to start your day. Stared off catching bait on the beach and ran off to some ledges in 85 feet of water. Went to work right away catching Grey snappers, and Trigger fish. It didn't take long for the first Gag grouper to come aboard and then the first King makerel. Once we had a limt of grouper and Grey snappers we went looking for more kings and ended the day catching kings and one small lost Mahi. Used BX-500N, SR-20, and BX-500 reels for all the fish on this day.

Oct. 13-14 - Japanese Guests

2010-10-19T18:34:00.000-07:00

Quick report, took a group from Shout tackle based in Japan out to the jack grounds and let them flex there muscles. we caught lots of fish up to 59 inches and right at 100 pounds, nobody in there crowd spoke english so that was a new twist but everything went great sorry for so few pics.

Oct 10th - Back to the Gulfstream

2010-10-19T18:31:00.000-07:00

This group was made up of all rookies except one who had jigged the west coast but not here in the atlantic. The guys all learned quick and there where bent rods all over and smilling faces. Biggest fish for the trip was a 58 inch fish. slick ocean and big fish make for easy work. Stopped on the way home and caught some Red porgies, Trigger fish, and Grey snappers to take home and eat. Reels used mainly SR-30, SR-20, BX-500N

Oct. 11-12 Jiggers from TX

2010-10-19T18:27:00.000-07:00

Had a great group of guys from Texas that needed a jigging fix and heard about our population of large jacks so here we go. Started the first day catching everything on jigs in deep water had they were chewing. Had a couple of 50 inch fish and lot of 45 to 48 inch fish.

Then the reel strained a little harder and the fight was a little longer than normal, well that was a good sign os a big fish. A 61 inch fish to be exact and about 105 to 110 pounds. That was our biggest of the day. day two had us back on the break and jigging was a little slow and the weather was kind of tough so we came in to find a topwater bite. On site the fish were slow to show but had a great bite on a popper and when the fish got close the followers came and destroyed another popper 12 inches from the rod tip. Those two bites were all she wrote since a large bull shark ate one of the hooked fish. All in all a terrific two days with very good anglers.

Oct. 9th - Back on the Water Again

2010-10-09T17:38:00.000-07:00

First day back on the water under the power of BRAND NEW 2011 HONDA MOTORS. Broke them in on a half day bottom fishing charter. The ocean was great the company was great and well the fishing was great too. Limited out on White Grunts and had a couple of nice Gag Grouper to go along. With a full schedule this fall keep watching for updates. Used a mix of BX-500N and SR-20 and SR-30 reels.

www.livingwatersguide.com

www.accuratefishing.com

Sept 4th Jigging

2010-09-30T09:51:00.000-07:00

Well if you have been reading my posts you can see that I get a lot of jigging trips and everyone seems to love the strong and aggressive Amberjack. Well here we go again with a crew from NC and VA, back to the Gulfstream for the chance to break the 100 pound mark. Todays weather could not have been better, slow drifts and great looking water conditions lead to a group of sore arms and tired backs. I will let the pics do most of the report, but the jacks were big and thick, we also had some Red Grouper, blackfin tuna, and False Albacore. Enjoy the pics, Tackle used BX-400N, BX500N, SR-20, SR-30.

www.livingwatersguide.com

www.accuratefishing.com

Aug 26th mixed gulfstream

2010-09-30T09:36:00.000-07:00

Again headed out to the gulfstream for a mix of trolling, jigging and bottom fishing. This crew has done this many time with me and make my job very easy. We started jigging in 300 feet of water and got destroyed by some huge Amberjacks, One of the first fish was a 58 inch monster that would be one of three in the high 50 inch range. Those fish are very close to the 100 pound mark this time of year.

The action continued with Jacks and small Blackfin tuna until lunch when we decided to troll for one of the wahoo that have been biting off the jigs thougout the day. Not long on the troll the blackfins cover up the spread and with the spread back out the first wahoo came calling. With a nice 40 pound hoo in the box and some blackfins we move in for some bottomfishing, well that report is short since the current was running about 4knots and the wind gave us a cross swell that kept us from being able to anchor, so that made the decision to go home easy. Tackle used again BX-400N, BX-500N, SR-20, SR-30 for jigging and BX2-30 for trolling.

www.livingwatersguide.com

www.accuratefishing.com

Aug 20th bottom fishing

2010-09-30T09:27:00.000-07:00

Had a quick trip twenty miles offshore for a great client that didn't have much time stopped on a couple of ledges before we found fish that need a meal. Once we were on a productive spot the action was fast Gag Grouper, White Grunts, and Red Porgies made quick work of the live menhaden we were dropping. In a half day we limited out on Gags, grunts, and Porgies, and had the boat back at 1pm. Got to love when things are easy for a change. Pretty much only used BX-400N reels for the bottom I did have a SR-12 twinspin out as a live line but no stikes on top today.

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www.accuratefishing.com

Aug 17th Bottom fishing

2010-09-30T09:18:00.000-07:00

Well the bottom bite has been red hot and this day was no exception. Limited out on Red Porgies, Vermillion Snapper, Gag Grouper and had a great mix of White Grunts, Trigger fish, king mackerels and Joltheads. Had to release six big American Red Snappers because the season is closed and released a few Amberjacks that came to play. Caught most fish on bait but did a little jigging and had a few nice Trigger fish on the jigs. Tackle used, BX-500n, and BX-500 for the bottom fishing and light lined live baits on top for the kings with a pair of SR-12 spinning reels.

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www.accuratefishing.com

July 23-24th gulfstream jigging

2010-09-30T08:58:00.000-07:00

Had a mixed group from MISS, PA, and AL, who all travelled to enjoy jigging for a mixed bag. Fishing in water from 250 feet to 400 feet deep and using long jigs up to 12 oz we targeted large amberjacks. Well to say they were there would be an understatement, the guys caught fish after fish drop after drop. If you had a fish miss just keep working it and another would pile on it and if a fish pulled off you would get hit by one of the followers. The day was great with nice weather and beautiful water. After two days of fishing we had totaled more that 100 jacks and a few bottom fish and a couple of mahi. Tackle used mostly were BX-400, BX-400N, BX-500N and SR-20 and SR-30 reels loaded with 80lb braid. This type of fishing puts huge strain on the gears and the drags and no failers or issues, these things are really earning there place in the rod rack.

www.livingwatersguide.com

www.accuratefishing.com

June 8th gulfstream

2010-09-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

Had a great group that wanted a mixed trip of trolling and jigging so away we went. The day started great with mixed mahi from little slingers to nice gaffers. We had a few small blackfin tuna mixed in and worked on the troll until a little after lunch before having to run from three water spouts that would not go away.

After moving to a little deeper water we put the jigs to work and the crew had action right way with very respectable amberjacks including one fish in the mid 50 inch range.

We also had one really nice red grouper on a jig before leaving for the day. And as always keeping a watchful eye while riding home we came upon a big floating patch of sargassso weed and decided to check it out.

well 30 minutes of bailing slinger mahi got us close to a 40 fish limit before we attracted the attention of a barracuda that wanted a bite. After all was said and done we had a great day. We used BX2-30 reels loaded with braid and mono topshots for trolling, BX-400N and SR-20 reels for jigging.

www.livingwatersguide.com

www.accuratefishing.com

2010-04-16T15:55:00.000-07:00

March 29, 2010

Well what can I say the fishing is great and we are still waiting for the warm water to get here. Jigging seems to be the most productive attack method while trolling stays slow for those who insist. I have been fishing the break from 160 feet of water to 310 feet and there have been lots of options. Keeping the jigs on the bottom and slow bouncing give you the best shot at a cobia and they have been big real big, 30 to 80 pounds. If you don't get bit on the bottom work it up with a slow pump and real motion and the African pompano and Amberjack are the likely predators.

Then if you like Blackfin Tuna you need to keep the jig up in the water column and fast is best keep the jig moving. We have been using the SR30 and SR20 spinning reels spooled with 70 and 80 pound braid and the BX500 narrow spooled with 70 braid for most of the action so far. The reels take lots of abuse when fishing this way and so far they have been flawless. Can't wait for the water to warm and bring in new species but no complaints so far.

Capt Rick

http://www.livingwatersguide.com/

(910) 620-7709

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2010-04-15T10:31:00.001-07:00